Lake Mungo remains Facts for Kids | KidzSearch.com New South Wales The Lake Mungo remains are three sets of human fossils . They are Lake Mungo 1 (LM1, or Mungo Lady), Lake Mungo 2 (LM2), and Lake Mungo 3 (LM3, or Mungo Man). The sites are located near Lake Mungo , in New South Wales , Australia , in the World Heritage-listed Willandra Lakes Region . [1] Pieces of skeletons have been found in this region. These pieces have been attributed to over forty human skeletons. The Lake Mungo remains are the most significant of these. [2] LM1 was found in 1969, and is widely considered the oldest known cremation in the world. LM3, found in 1974, are the remains of an early human inhabitant of the Australian continent. His remains are the oldest human remains that have been found in Australia. The exact age of these two fossils has been debated since they were found, with studies giving estimates between 20,000 and 62,000 years.

Both of them are now generally considered to have lived around 40,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch . Contents 5 More reading Mungo Lady (LM1) LM1 are the fossilised , cremated remains of a young woman. They were found in 1969 by James Bowler with the University of Melbourne . [3] Radiocarbon dating of pieces of bone from the burial put LM1 between 24,700 and 19,030 years old. Charcoal from a hearth 15 cm above the burial was dated at 26,250 years old (plus or minus 1,120 years). Reconstruction and study of the remains was mainly done by Alan Thorne at the Australian National University . The patterns of burn marks on the bones suggest that the body was first burned, then smashed, then burned a second time, before being buried. [4] Research published by Bowler in 2003 rejected previous estimates for all of remains at the site.

Optical dating concluded that both LM1 and LM3 were buried around 40,000 years ago (plus or minus 2,000 years). [5] [6] This makes it the earliest evidence of human cremation that has been found. [7] [8] It suggests that ancient indigenous Australians in this region had their own complicated burial rituals. [5] The bones were returned in 1992 to the area's traditional owners: the Paakantji (Barkindji), the Mathi Mathi and the Ngiyampaa . LM1 is now in a locked vault at the Mungo National Park visitor centre. [4] Mungo Man (LM3) LM3 was found by James Bowler on 26 February 1974, when shifting sand dunes exposed the remains. [9] It is located 500 m east of the LM1 site. The body was covered with red ochre , in the earliest known example of such a complicated and artistic burial practice. Like the cremation of LM1, this indicates that certain cultural traditions have existed on the Australian continent for much longer than previously thought.

[5] [10] Description Mungo Man (Lake Mungo 3) The skeleton was of a slender individual, quite different to the build of modern indigenous Australians. [11] The skeleton was badly preserved : large pieces of the skull were missing, and most of the bones in the limbs were damaged. Usually, the gender of a skeleton is determined using the bones in the skull and the pelvis. The problem is that these bones are in a very bad state in LM3, or they are missing altogether; in other words, the "normal" method of gender determination cannot be used with LM3. Since LM3 was discovered, other features were studied; most of these studies agree that LM3 was probably a male. [12] [13] [14] LM3 was buried lying on his back, with his hands joined together covering the groin. Some of the bones show evidence of osteoarthritis and eburnation , and the teeth are well worn. Based on this, it is likely that LM3 was quite old (around 50 years old) when he died.

[15] New studies show that, using the length of his limb bones, it is possible to estimate LM3's height at 196 centimetres (77 inches or 6 ft 5 in), unusually tall for an Aboriginal. [10] Age The first estimate of LM3's age was made in 1976 by the team of scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) who excavated LM3. They estimated that LM3 was between 28,000 and 32,000 years old. [9] They did not test LM3's remains directly; instead, they made their estimate through stratigraphic comparison with LM1. In 1987, an electron spin resonance test was done on pieces of bone from LM3's skeleton. This gave an estimate of his age at 31,000 years, plus or minus 7,000 years. In 1999, optical dating work was done on quartz from the LM3 burial site.

The results indicated a burial older than 24,600 years (± 2,400) and younger than 43,300 years (± 3,800). [16] Later in the same year, research led by Alan Thorne gave a new estimate of 62,000 years old (plus or minus 6,000 years). This estimate was made by combining data from uranium-thorium dating , electron spin resonance dating and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the remains and the soil in the grave. [17] This estimate was very controversial, [18] [19] [20] and some of the techniques used to get this estimate were criticised. [15] In 2003, several Australian groups came to an agreement that LM3 is about 40,000 years old. A team led by Bowler did 25 more OSL tests that suggested that LM3 can not be older than 50,000 years. [6] This age roughly agrees with stratigraphic evidence using four different dating methods.

The age of 40,000 years is now the most widely accepted age for the LM3. This makes it the second oldest human fossil east of India, and the oldest in Australia. [5] [10] In addition to this, the study published in 2003 found that LM1 and LM3 are similar in age, [21] and that humans were present at Lake Mungo as early as 50,000 to 46,000 years ago. [5] How Australia was settled The main idea at the time is called Out of Africa hypothesis: It says that humans developed on the African continent , and spread from there. Another important site is called Kow Swamp , in the northern part of Victoria . It consists of about twenty skeletons, which are between 5,000 and 10,000 years old. The morphology of Mungo Man is noticeably different from these skeletons. For this reason, some researchers have said that Australia was probably settled twice. The settlers were probably descendants of Homo erectus and came from the Asian mainland. This theory is based on the analysis of Mitochondrial DNA .

If this is true, the two lines, that of Mungo Man and that of modern humans, separated a very long time ago. This would also mean that Mitochondrial Eve of this line and that of modern humans would be older than Mitochondrial Eve of all living humans. [22] References ↑ Barbetti M, Allen H. (1972). "Prehistoric man at Lake Mungo, Australia, by 32,000 years BP.". Nature 240 (5375): 46–8. doi : 10.1038/240046a0 . PMID 4570638 . ↑ 15.0 15.1 Brown, Peter. Lake Mungo 3 University of New England ↑ Oyston, B. (1996). "Thermoluminescence age determinations for the Mungo III human burial, Lake Mungo, southeastern Australia". Quarterly Science Review 15 (7): 739–749.

doi : 10.1016/0277-3791(96)00025-X . ↑ Thorne A, Grün R, Mortimer G, Spooner NA, Simpson JJ, McCulloch M, Taylor L, Curnoe D. (1999). "Australia's oldest human remains: age of the Lake Mungo 3 skeleton.". Journal of Human Evolution 36 (6): 591–612. doi : 10.1006/jhev.1999.0305 . PMID 10330330 . ↑ Gillespie R, Roberts RG (2000). "On the reliability of age estimates for human remains at Lake Mungo". J. Of Human Evol. 38 (5): 727–732. doi : 10.1006/jhev.1999.0398 . PMID 10799262 . ↑ Bowler, JM; Magee, JW (2000).

"Redating Australia's oldest human remains: a sceptic's view". Journal of Human Evolution 38 (5): 719–726. doi : 10.1006/jhev.1999.0397 . PMID 10799261 . ↑ GrüN R, Spooner NA, Thorne A, Mortimer G, Simpson JJ, Mcculloch MT, Taylor L, Curnoe D (2000). "Age of the Lake Mungo 3 skeleton, reply to Bowler & Magee and to Gillespie & Roberts". Journal of Human Evolution 38 (5): 733–741. doi : 10.1006/jhev.2000.0399 . PMID 10799263 . ↑ Olleya JM, Roberts RG, Yoshida H and Bowler JM (2006). "Single-grain optical dating of grave-infill associated with human burials at Lake Mungo, Australia".

Quaternary Science Reviews 25 (19-20): 2469–2474. doi : 10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.07.022 . ↑ Gregory J. Adcock et al.: Mitochondrial DNA sequences in ancient Australians: Implications for modern human origins. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , Volume 98, Nr. 2, 2002, pp. 537–542 Full text(PDF) PMID 11209053 More reading Animals | Understanding Mungo | Visit Mungo National Park Animals Wildlife Any trip to Mungo would be incomplete without seeing a mob of Emus prancing through the bluebush, cockatoos screeching at sunset or a Red Kangaroo scratching himself in the morning light. Back when the lakes were full the place was brimming with wildlife that nourished the Aboriginal inhabitants - ducks, swans, waders, pigeons, fish, yabbies, lizards, bettongs, bandicoots, wallabies, mice, rats and more.

The fish and waterbirds are long gone, and many of the small mammals disappeared more recently, but the native fauna remains a fascinating part of Mungo's outback mystique. A great variety of native vertebrate animals has been recorded here - 110 species of birds, 22 mammal species and 62 reptile species. Eighteen of these are classified as endangered. Mammals The first ground-dwelling animals you'll see in Mungo National Park will probably be our largest marsupials - kangaroos. These herbivores spend their days grazing quietly in the grasslands or resting in a scratched-out pad in the woodland shade. The best time to observe kangaroos is from about 4 pm through to 9 am. You'll need to be very quiet because they are shy and easily scared. At Mungo there are three species of large kangaroo: Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus). The males are the easiest to identify by their earthy red coats and pale belly, legs and tail. Some males can be the colour of bluebush, while the females are generally blue-grey and smaller. Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus).

This 'roo is sooty grey tinged with a rust colour, and is adapted to scrub and woodland communities. Western greys are commonly known as 'scrubbers', possibly due to their appearance, or their habitat. Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). This is very similar in appearance to a western grey, but doesn't have the western grey's tell-tale black fur on its extremities. Of the three species, the Red Kangaroo is better adapted to drought conditions because it doesn't stick to a home range but roams to follow good conditions. Following ancient tradition, the Paakantji and Ngiyampaa people do not eat grey kangaroos. You might be lucky enough to see a Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) while you're in Mungo. These monotremes are highly specialised feeders, devouring ants, termites, grub larvae, worms, mites, insect pupae and small spiders. They seek out food by ripping open logs and stumps or digging into ant mounds and nests, guided by smell and minute electrical signals detected in the snout.

In summer you'll probably see echidnas more at dawn and dusk, but in the cooler months they can be found throughout the day, taking advantage of the temperate conditions. Look closely at an echidna and you'll see a layer of fur between the spines, the colour of which varies with the environments they live in. The echidna usually seeks shelter in rabbit or wombat burrows, hollow logs or thick bushes, while females build their own burrows when incubating or suckling their young. Although echidnas are known to hibernate in the cold regions of the east and south, it's unlikely that they do this as far west as Mungo National Park. A number of small and medium-sized mammals have become extinct in the Willandra area since white settlement (see Recent Changes ), but others still survive. These include two mouse-sized, carnivorous marsupials: the Fat-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata), which stores fat in its tail for lean times and whose nocturnal tracks can often be seen on the dunes and the Common Dunnart (S. murina).

The Southern Ningaui (Ningaui yvonneae) is a tiny but energetic predator that weighs only about 10 grams. It lives in the mallee country and eats insects, spiders and small lizards. This ningaui is endangered by loss of habitat, predation by foxes and cats, grazing and frequent fires. In the evenings, you might see small insect-eating bats (microbats) flitting around the sky. Bats are the most diverse group of mammals in Willandra, with nine species including the endangered Little Pied Bat (Chalinolobus picatus). These microbats roost in hollow trees, and sometimes in old farm buildings. Birds Mungo supports a wide variety of bird life, mainly due to the varied landforms and habitat of the region. About 150 species can be seen here, but some are more conspicuous than others. While bushwalking through the mallee community for example, there's a good chance you'll spot some Mallee Ringnecks (Barnardius zonarius). These parrots hang out in flocks or pairs, and can be identified by their green plumage and creamy-yellow neck band.

They're about 30 cm long and, like most parrots, are brightly coloured and wonderful to watch. They usually nest in tree hollows and feed on grass seeds, herbs, berries, fruit, buds and blossoms, as well as the seeds of red gum and Yorrell. A very sociable animal, especially around campgrounds, is the grey Apostlebird (Struthidea cinerea), so named because they hang around in family groups, sometimes of about a dozen birds. They are also referred to locally as 'bludger birds', because they're always on the lookout for food scraps. But please don't feed them because anything but their natural food of seeds and insects is not good for their health. Apart from the largest Australian bird of all, the flightless Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), other bird species you might see in various parts of the park include: Galah Variegated Fairy-wren Malurus lamberti Many of these birds can be seen drinking at one time or another from the ground tanks located around the park. Generally each species has a specific drinking time, and once you've worked these out, you can be ready to watch each species at its favourite time.

At times there may only be a handful of birds drinking, while at others the watering spot will be bustling with excitement and intense chatter as the birds come in for a drink during a dry spell. These are perfect opportunities for observing the interactions and specific characters of some of these outback birds. If you're visiting the lakebed, which is covered with various species of saltbush and bluebush, keep an eye out for the Orange Chat (Epthianura aurifrons). This little bird will most likely be running across the ground. The male will be an orange-red colour and the female more of an orange-yellow. Much more brilliant however, is the Crimson Chat (Epthianura tricolor), which can be found within the bushes along the edges of mallee habitat. Again you'll notice that the males have more dominant colours. The female has mottled tinges of red on her forehead, and the same on her cream belly, while the male displays a vivid red bonnet and apron. Chats are highly colourful little creatures and are among the few small birds that walk, but do not hop. They have a brush-like tip on their tongue, assumed to be an adaptation for extracting nectar from the flowering plants of the region.

Their nests, cup-shaped and made of fine twigs and grasses, can be found on low bushes in spinifex clumps, or on the ground. Keep an eye out for the Pink Cockatoos, which can at times be seen in their hundreds, particularly when coming in to roost for the night. If you are stopped in wonder by the sounds of a rich and melodious call, it's most likely the flute-like song of one of the species of butcher birds. Another wonder to keep an eye out for is the Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides), sometimes referred to as a sparrow hawk. This tan-coloured bird with darker, pointed wing-tips is amazing to watch as it hovers in place watching for signs of movement on the ground, perhaps a mouse, an invertebrate, or something from the reptile kingdom. Once sighted, the little kestrel tucks in its wings and dives straight for its target. With prey clutched tightly in its talons, it alights on a stump, branch, or fence post to savour the rewards of its efforts.

Threatened bird species recorded for the Mungo area include: Australian Bustard Leipoa ocellata Reptiles A walk through any habitat in the park will undoubtedly result in the sighting of one of the many lizards and snakes to be found at Mungo. Forty species of reptiles have been recorded here, including ten species of gecko and sixteen species of skinks. The largest reptile in the park is the harmless Carpet Python (Morelia spilota), which can grow up to four metres long, but is more likely to be two metres. These animals are models of patience, as they will hang from a branch over a known animal track for up to a week. The snake will wait for something to pass by, and if nothing does, it will simply pack up camp and try somewhere else. The Carpet Python is a beautiful snake, with superb pale to dark brown colouring with black splotches and yellow patterned markings over the full length of the body. The under surface is cream or yellow blotched with dark grey. You probably won't come across a snake in or around the park's campsites, but they are not uncommon outside the camping area.

Snakes are naturally shy animals and will avoid contact with humans wherever possible. It's best not to take chances though, and to be aware that they're around and that it's their home you are visiting. Wear sensible footwear, and if you do happen to come across a snake, just walk calmly away. Three of the snake species in the park are listed as dangerous: Western Brown Snake (1.5 m) Pseudonaja nuchalis Mulga, or King Brown Snake (2 m) Pseudechis australis Several reptile species make their home in the saltbush, including the Shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa), sometimes known as the stumpy-tail or sleepy lizard. You may find a Shingleback resting under a shrub or sunning itself in the open. Their diet consists of vegetable matter such as fruit and berries or ground blossoms, but they will also eat insects and snails. The Lined Earless Dragon (Tympanocryptis lineata lineata) lives in many of the different habitats of Mungo. Don't let the name fool you, for this lizard grows to only 15 cm long.

It's quite attractive in its brown, black and orange outfit, with thin white stripes running the length of its body. It lacks visible ear openings - hence the name. While you're driving around or hiking, keep an eye on fence posts, stumps, and shrubs, where you are likely to see a Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata). These lizards like sunning themselves in unusual, but very practical places. Being reptiles and cold blooded, they use the energy of the sun to regulate their body temperature. They grow up to 40-55 cm long. Other species you might see include: Mallee Dragon Cyclodomorphus melanops (threatened species) Frogs Not much is known about the amphibians in the park. The Common Spade Foot Toad (Neobatrachus sudelli), Long Thumbed Frog (Limnodynastes fletcheri) and the Spotted Grass Frog (L. tasmaniensis) are reasonably common around ground tanks, particularly those that hold water for long periods. The threatened Painted Burrowing Frog (Neobatrachus pictus) may also potentially live here.

Invertebrates Many of the mammals and birds in Mungo rely on invertebrates such as beetles, bugs, spiders and insect larvae for food. Some invertebrates rely on the vegetation of the park for food and protection from the surrounding environment. They return the favour by helping to pollinate plants, forming an essential link for plant reproduction. Fauna List This is a full list of all mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians recorded for Mungo National Park as at June 2010 (Source: NSW Wildlife Atlas). Species are listed in alphabetical order on scientific name (genus). # species listed under Threatened Species Act * introduced species New South Wales- Mungo National Park Listen now | Download MP3 Mungo is a park of dramatic contrasts. The discovery of the remains of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady in the Park changed our understanding of and knowledge about the length time that Aboriginals have lived in Australia as well as of the development of their culture. The evidence shows that human occupation of the area began around 50,000 years ago. Lake Mungo has been dry for thousands of years and now is a lake of salt bush.

From the 1850s, the area was an extensive grazing property shearing thousands of sheep which had a debilitating effect with the extensive erosion that occurred as a consequence. The huge Mungo shearing shed has been restored to illustrate this phase of the Park's history. NSW Parks archeologist, Harvey Johnston, talks about how erosion led to the formation of the remarkable "lunette" known as the Walls of China that dominates the landscape and reveals so much about the early Aboriginal use of the area. Harvey and Jane Stapleton find the remains of a meal 35,000 years old. The three local Aboriginal tribal groups are actively involved in the management of the park and also assist in the provision of guided tours. Jane talks to representatives of the Aboriginal community about their work in the park. Mungo White Dunes - pic by Jane Stapleton Jason Di Rosso: Hello, Jason Di Rosso here on Radio National Summer. Time again to join Roger Penny and Jane Stapleton for A Walk in the Park. Today they visit Mungo National Park, in the far south-western corner of New South Wales.

Lake Mungo is dry, but it’s not a salt lake, rather it’s a lake of saltbush. And it’s not just a National Park. It’s also a time machine, the place where Mungo Man and Mungo Lady were found, a discovery that changed ideas about early Aboriginal occupation and culture. Well let’s go now to the lake with Jane Stapleton, who’s talking to New South Wales Parks and Wildlife archaeologist, Harvey Johnston. Jane Stapleton: We’re looking at an amazing landscape here, Harvey; can you explain to us how it got to look like this? The Walls of China - pic by Roger Penny Harvey Johnston: We’re looking at the eroded lunette on the eastern side of the Mungo Lake bed, and in front of us is the devegetated dunes and residuals and a little bit of saltbush and bluebush holding parts of the landscape together, but most of it’s eroded by wind and water, predominantly in the last 100 to 200 years. Jane Stapleton: Ah, coinciding with sheep and rabbits?

Harvey Johnston: Yes, there’s been intense grazing in the last 150 years, associated with the introduced grazers, and that’s helped to devegetate these dunes. Jane Stapleton: What exactly is a lunette? Harvey Johnston: A lunette is a crescent-shaped dune on the downwind side of the lake bed. They’re made up of sediments that have blown off the lake floor when the lake was dry or the lake shore when the lake was full. So here we have alternating layers of sand and clay that have built up on the downwind side of what was once a lake bed or a lake floor. Jane Stapleton: So why is this formation so important in terms of preserving our past? Harvey Johnston: It’s a depositional environment, and so the continuous supply of sediments here buries items that are on the surface of the ground. Those items are camp sites or fireplaces or middens or burials. They may have been buried when they were placed on the ground, but subsequently the landscape has helped bury them even deeper. So the landscape helps to bury things in this area, and that helps to preserve things.

Jane Stapleton: OK, I guess the big question is - what have you found in this area? Harvey Johnston: We’re about halfway up the Mungo lunette and so we’re in an area right now that would have been at one stage the shoreline of Lake Mungo. Aboriginal people have been here in this precise area towards 35,000 years, and they’ve lit fires, they’ve eaten fish, they’ve eaten small animals, some burials have taken place in this region, and so people have been living, eating, sleeping and performing the ritual burials here for many, many thousands of years. Jane Stapleton: When people hear of Lake Mungo, they think of the ritual burials that were found here that proved the longevity of Aboriginal ownership of the area. But have you done any work on that site? Harvey Johnston: Yes, there’s been continuing work on that site. Particularly in the last three or four years, there’s been a number of dating projects that are really seeking to establish how old those burials are.

When they were found in 1968, and Mungo Man was found in 1974, there were a limited range of dating technologies that were available to us. In recent decades new methods were available. Particularly optically stimulated luminescence has been used to date the sediments to try to get a good handle on the age of the burials in that area. Jane Stapleton: And it’s all borne out the longevity of it? Harvey Johnston: Absolutely. We have a very good chronological record which shows that the burials were around 40,000 to 42,000 years ago. And I should point out that there’s a large number of burials in this area. The Aboriginal community are closely involved in the management of all these sites in the area, and that the public attention is focused on Mungo Man and Mungo Lady, and many more are carefully curated by the Aboriginal elders in the three traditional tribal groups of the area. Cypress Pines - pic by Jane Stapleton Jane Stapleton: There’s also evidence of ancient animals here.

Harvey Johnston: There’s a group of animals here that are broadly called mega fauna, and we have some large kangaroos that have been found in this area, the procoptodon. A large animal called a zygomaturus, which is sometimes called a giant wombat. It looks like a giant wombat but it didn’t burrow. It’s more commonly found as fossil remains in the southern half of Australia, but there is one zygomaturus from this area. The extinct emu, genyornis, is present in this area. Sthenurus, another large kangaroo is present; the Tasmanian Devil, Tasmanian Tiger, and a wonderful range of the small fauna that was present in this area until the 1890s. So all the small wallabies, the small kangaroos, the hare wallabies and wombats - just a wonderful range of that small fauna. A lot of particularly those smaller animals are really well-represented in Aboriginal fireplaces and camp sites. And so we have an excellent record of that fauna, simply from what people were eating at the time.

And that’s interesting in itself; it tends to show us which animals people preferred to eat, or at least the ones that are most commonly found in fireplaces. So for instance, the hare wallaby, the Eastern hare wallaby which is now totally extinct in Australia, is very well represented in fireplaces through this area. And in not just recent fireplaces, because these fireplaces would go back to 12,000 and 15,000 years. Jane Stapleton: When was the mega fauna in the geological history? Where do they come as opposed to when the Aboriginal people were living here? Harvey Johnston: Yes, that’s a really good question. Dating when the mega fauna were in Australia and when they became extinct in Australia, has focused a lot of scientific minds for about 150 years. There’s some good evidence now coming out, because we need dates on these events, and some good dating is now coming out that seems to indicate that a lot of the mega fauna in Australia became extinct about 50,000 years ago.

There’s one or two exceptions to that broad pattern that are still being debated with archaeologists and palaeontologists but broadly it seems, across a lot of Australia, all those large animals disappeared about 50,000 years ago. Jane Stapleton: Has there been something that you’ve found here that you’ve gone, “Oh, wow!” Harvey Johnston: Yeah. That happens regularly, and I guess it’s mainly when you have those little insights into what people were doing. When you start to understand that rock and bones and things on the ground suddenly come alive with a meaning, with how someone behaved at a particular location. What they did with the stone artefact, what they did in a fireplace and the timing of that. So it’s a regular event in archaeology, and you suddenly say, “Oh, wow, that’s what they were really doing!” And it’s the little discoveries that make it quite fascinating. Jane Stapleton: Harvey Johnston. That part of my walk with Harvey was just setting the scene. You’ll hear what happened when we went exploring later in the program. Roger Penny: As Harvey said, the reason for the eroded landscape was the advent of introduced animals, particularly sheep.

And one of the most impressive buildings in the park is the Mungo Woolshed. I went to the shed with Harry Mangan. Harry is Mungo’s Pest Control Officer and he helped restore the woolshed. The Lake Mungo Woolshed - pic by Jane Stapleton Harry, when was this shearing shed built? Harry Mangan: In the mid-1850s by Chinese labourers. Roger Penny: Why Chinese? Harry Mangan: Well, it was the end of the Gold Rush days, and they were looking for work and they were a cheap labour source so they were used. Roger Penny: And what did they built it out of? Harry Mangan: The local pine. It was all cut within a 50 kilometre radius of here. Roger Penny: And corrugated iron, of course. Harry Mangan: Yes, that was shipped out from overseas, the iron was used on the roof. It came up by paddle steamer and then on to horse and carts and drays and brought out here. Roger Penny: And you’ve done a lot of work on the shearing shed in recent years, to make it safe, and to make it visitor-friendly.

Harry Mangan: Yes, restoration work - it’s been going on for quite a few years now, but about ten years ago was the last major amount of work that we did on it. Roger Penny: It’s in good condition now? Harry Mangan: For its age, yes. It’s holding together quite well, but there’s always bits of work that have to be done all the time. Roger Penny: I’m sure of that. How many shearers would there have been here in its prime? Harry Mangan: Thirty to forty hand blade shearers in its time, but over the years that’s reduced when it went to mechanical to only about five stands in the end. Roger Penny: And how many sheep were they shearing? Harry Mangan: Back in the early days, when it was hand shears, quite a few hundred thousand sheep they were doing each year, it was a large property. But over the years the property got smaller and smaller. Roger Penny: Let’s go over here and have a look at some of the restoration work. I believe it was fairly complicated at one stage.

Harry Mangan: Yes, there were five or six of us working on it over quite a number of months to restore some of the shed back to its, as you see it now. Roger Penny: And what were some of the thing that you were required to do? Harry Mangan: Most of the support posts in the shed were rotted out at ground level, so we had to remove them and replace them, replace what we could and save what timber we could as well. So that meant acro-propping the roof up to hold it there. Roger Penny: What do you mean by acro-propping? Harry Mangan: They’re a steel post that’s adjustable. We put that underneath the roof and then secure the roof to a – we had a grader and a tractor here chained down to hold the roof up under these acro-props, and then we removed everything from underneath them and started to rebuild all the timbers, grafted new timber onto old to keep as much old timber as we could, and replace what we had to. Roger Penny: So how much of it now is in its original form?

Harry Mangan: Over the whole shed itself, it would probably be 75% would be still original timber, but around 25% has been replaced at one stage or another. Roger Penny: And it’s perfectly stable now? Harry Mangan: Yes, it’s quite stable, yes. But as you look around there’s always small jobs that have to be done. Because the timber’s been standing for 150 year now, there’s some that is just getting too old and brittle, and it’s got to be replaced. Roger Penny: And this old woolclassing table back here looks as though it’s missing a few runners. Harry Mangan: Yes, ages of time and students and a few other things, it’s sort of now needs a bit more work on it. Roger Penny: Yes. When you were pulling up the floorboards for example, did you find anything interesting underneath them? Harry Mangan: Yes, there was old cigarette tins, packets, that type of stuff. Hand-made nails, because all the nails that were used on the shed were all hand-made back in those days. So that type of stuff that showed some of the materials they used when they actually built the shed.

Roger Penny: On the next part of Jane’s walk at the Walls of China, archaeologist, Harvey Johnston gave her a close-up view of what the eroding landscape is revealing. Lunettes - pic by Roger Penny Jane Stapleton: Harvey, what’s special about the place we’re at? Harvey Johnston: It’s on the shoreline of the Mungo Lake - so behind us we have a tiny row of water-rolled pebbles that just indicates where a shoreline was at one stage in the past. And that shoreline’s quite low. It indicates a dry phase in the lake’s history. In front of us, we’ve got a mound of what looks like tiny straws. These are algal tubules. Algae lived in the water of Lake Mungo. It floated on the surface and it had tiny tendrils which secreted calcium carbonate, and the secretions turned into cylinders, and the tiny cylinders are in front of us now, dried on the surface and looking like a pile of very small straws. It’s an environmental indicator which shows at one stage this was a lake. Fossil Algae - pic by Jane Stapleton Jane Stapleton: And the rest of the dramatic landscape, up at the Walls of China?

Harvey Johnston: The colours and the textures of the sediments mean a lot. So you have a deep red core of the dune, which is a Gol Gol Unit, and that’s a very ancient form that was a dune along the edge of a lake basin that probably pre-dates the most recent fillings of the lake. On top of that you have quite a sandy sediment and sequence of buff-coloured sands, and that’s the Mungo Unit, somewhere between 60,000 and 40,000 years. And then above that you have a sequence of sediments that progressively have more and more clay indicating drying of the lake. Starting about 40,000 and at about 20,000 years ago, you have quite a clayey sediment with the glacial maximum when the whole of Australia was very arid, and this lake was completely dry, a dustbowl, and a lot of clay had moved from the lake floor onto the dunes and built up here.

And then the final unit in front of us is the very soft sandy sediments which are the historic period when erosion took place and a lot of the sands were eroded from the face of the dune and blown over behind the dune. Fireplace - pic by Jane Stapleton This is a small fireplace just eroding from the edge of the fore dune sands of Lake Mungo. It’s a fireplace made of termite nest material, and you can see that some of the material is blackened, here it’s been burnt in the fireplace. Termite nest is a very frequent material in fireplaces of the Willandra Lakes. There’s not a lot of rock in the landscape so the capping on the underground termite nests would have made an excellent heat retainer in fires, and so you find a lot of the fires in this area made from this material. Jane Stapleton: Actually that is an aspect. I’m looking out here and I can’t see any rock material - it’s all sand. Harvey Johnston: Rock material is really rare. There are a number of hard rock outcrops in the area, and those have been quarried for flaking stone, but generally across the landscape it’s a sandy area.

Jane Stapleton: You said, “underground termite mounds”? Harvey Johnston: Yeh, a lot of people have a vision of the upright above-ground termite mounds in Central Australia. In this area the termite mounds are marked by a disc of hard sediment, about a metre in diameter, flat to the surface. The gallery of the termite is beneath that and can go down some metres. That flat disc on the surface of the ground is quite a hard capping that can be broken from the edges and snapped into pieces, and then used in firse for retaining the heat. Jane Stapleton: From its location, do you have any idea about when this would have been used? Harvey Johnston: It’s stratographically quite high here and therefore quite young. There’s no precise date from this fireplace in particular, but maybe in the 3 to 5,000 year period and not much older than that. The older fireplaces that go back 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 years are made up of clay heat retainers, or are simply debris from the fire, so ash and burnt bone and stained sediment.

Jane Stapleton: And the charring on them, the fact that you can still see where they’ve been burnt, is quite moving. Harvey Johnston: And you can see some of its structure. I mean this is about a metre in diameter feature we’re looking at, and you can see various heating ranges there, so blackened sediment, and reddened sediment, and whitened sediment, all indicates different heating ranges in the fire. Fish Bone Fossils - pic by Jane Stapleton There’s probably one more spot over here. What we do have are fragments of bone which is fish, and it’s been burned here. You can see it’s blackened, and it’s been in the fire. And the dates from this are about 35,000, and it’s scattered along in this sediment here for some metres. It’s very fine. It’s the size of tiny splinters of matches really but, from the reconstruction of the bones here we know the species of fish - Golden Perch. we know the size of the fish, we know the age of the fireplace. Jane Stapleton: This site would be very much subject to erosion I imagine.

Harvey Johnston: Yes, this area that we’re looking at will continue to erode and these tiny fragments in front of us will wash away over the years ahead. But Mungo lunette holds many more sites like this in its sediments, and Mungo is one of many lakes in this area as well. So this area is particularly eroded, and our hope is that there will be many more sites like this well preserved in more vegetated areas in the park. Jane Stapleton: And I guess the erosion helps you uncover them too, doesn’t it? Harvey Johnston: The erosion makes all these things visible. We wouldn’t be able to see them if we didn’t have the erosion taking place, it’s true. Jane Stapleton: New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service archaeologist, Harvey Johnston. Rex Smith is Barkantji and a Field Officer in the Park, which is run under an agreement between Parks and Wilddlife, and the three local Aboriginal peoples, the Barkantji, the Mutti Mutti and the Nyempa. I asked Rex how he thought the arrangement was working. Rex Smith: So far I think it’s working pretty good. Everyone’s getting along real well.

Even sort of like the white blokes and that who works here, we get along really well with them, and even the boss and the committee. Jane Stapleton: There are three tribal groups here, aren’t there? Rex Smith: Yes, there’s the Mutti Mutti and Barkantji and the Nyempa. They get along well. They sort of sit down in meetings and listen to one another, sort of throw ideas and that around, and try things out and see who can come up with the best thing for everyone. Jane Stapleton: And what do you think is the future of the park? More visitors, less visitors? Rex Smith: I think it’s getting more and more. Jane Stapleton: And that’s a good thing, do you think? Rex Smith: Yes, I think it’s really good. Yes, a lot of tourists and that when they see us doing a bit of work, they always come over and ask questions and we try and answer them the best way we can. Jane Stapleton: It must make you think about your ancestors, as you just simply walk around here. Rex Smith: Yes, it does.

Mainly when I’m on my side of the lake here, I feel a bit comfortable more back over that side, towards where the house is, than on this side. Jane Stapleton: So your people were from the sand dune side? Rex Smith: Yes. Jane Stapleton: Yes, OK. And whose territory is this? Rex Smith: This way is Nyempa. They’re still part of my people too, but I’m more sort of the Barkantji way. The Mutti Mutti is down the bottom end. Jane Stapleton: It makes you wonder whether there were sort of big meetings in the middle of the lake, doesn’t it? Rex Smith: Yes, big meetings or big fights, whatever. Probably more fights than meetings. I’m feeling real proud to be a part of this place. It’s good to be working out here, too, doing things. Roger Penny: Rangers and private operators both conduct tours of Mungo National Park. Graham Clarke: My name’s Graham Clarke. I’m based out of Wentworth and I run Harry Nanya Tours, and we’re an indigenous business – and we’ve been running for approximately 11 years now.

We conduct daily tours to Mungo, also overnight camp-out tours, and the idea is to let the people know about the heritage of the place, and our ancestors that go back so far, so that’s why we specifically specialise in Aboriginal guided tours, and cultural tours throughout the area. Jane Stapleton: Are you from one of the local tribal groups? Graham Clarke: Yes, I’m from the Parkantji people and parka means river, and antji people, and Parkantji means the river people, and we’re one of the groups with the three TGs, three tribal groups that are associated with Mungo, and that’s the Nyempa and the Mutti Mutti, and also the Parkantji. Jane Stapleton: And what’s the reaction of people when they come and see this place for the first time? Graham Clarke: The people are absolutely astounded. They just cannot believe that here’s a place that’s so very, very old, and being such a wide open place, they’re absolutely dumbfounded when they leave …..

and it’s better for people to come here with a guide or with one of the registered National Parks Rangers, because then they get a really good insight of the sites and the age and the datings of it, and it’s quite significant because it’s one of the only places where you’ll see something’s always appearing, after you get rain, and then something disappears, so it’s one big excavation site itself. Jane Stapleton: Graham Clarke. Visiting Mungo National Park is an unforgettable experience, with its ability to reveal the past and its stark beauty. Lars Kogge, Senior Ranger at Mungo, understands that well. I asked Lars about his Park. Lars, you’ve worked in parks all round Australia. What’s special about Mungo for you? The Walls of China - pic by Jane Stapleton Lars Kogge: Well I like all parks in the semi-arid parts of Australia. There’s something very addictive about a 360 degree horizon, which you can only get in these semi-arid parts of Australia, in the Australian Rangelands. It’s hard to explain, but I guess it’s a sense of freedom.

When you’re poking around out in parks like this, the rest of the world could be a million miles and a million years away. It’s a very relaxing environment to work in. Jane Stapleton: And I guess with some of the areas of this park, you are going back millions of years. Lars Kogge: Yes, one of the attractions of Mungo is that, without requiring too much imagination, you can actually get out to the Walls and picture this place as it was 20, 30, 40, 50,000 years ago, with the lakes full of fresh water, teeming with fish life, bird life, and when you wander around and you see the evidence of Aboriginal camps, you can see the remnants in fires of the meals that they once had. It’s the sort of place where you can be transported back in time. Jane Stapleton: This area is part of the Willandra Lakes World Heritage area. Why is it World Heritage area to start with. Lars Kogge: Well there’s two categories that you can apply for World Heritage listing under: the natural feature category, and also the cultural heritage category.

And this region was nominated under both categories, and the nomination was accepted under both categories. The history of the changing climate in south-east Australia that is depicted in the landscape here is regarded as an outstanding example of the geomorphological record. And then of course, with the cultural heritage, you’ve got not only the incredible length of time that Aboriginal people have lived here, and evidence of very early human, ceremonial burials, but you’ve also got the marriage of the people and their culture with the changing landscape, and it’s really like an open book out there in the landscape, telling the story of how the environment changed through climate change, how the plants and animals changed during that period, that long period of climate change, and how the people adapted to the change in plant and animal resources. So it’s a fascinating story. Jane Stapleton: So let’s talk about the plants and animals that are here now, The pink cockatoo? Lars Kogge: Well yes, we’ve got species that are listed as vulnerable. The pink cockatoo is probably one of the more notable species.

We’ve still got a good healthy population of them around here, much to the delight of most bird lovers that come out, especially when they can see them from the camp ground. Jane Stapleton: And those other endearing birds at the camp ground. We were woken this morning by apostle birds. They like people, don’t they? Lars Kogge: Well - yeah, they certainly like the food associated with people, and it doesn’t take them long to work out where you keep the good stuff, and they’ll go into your tent. But they’re one of the characters of the Australian arid zone, and most people don’t begrudge them a feed. Jane Stapleton: Even though you’re not supposed to feed native animals at the campground. Lars Kogge: Well you’re not supposed to feed them but, when they take it upon themselves to knock off your tucker, there’s not much you can do about it. Jane Stapleton: That’s very true. The plant species around here are quite incredible though. Suddenly there’s mallee, and suddenly there’s cypress pines and suddenly there’s bluebush. What is it that causes that?

Mungo Mulga - pic by Jane Stapleton Lars Kogge: Well - each vegetation suite is basically related to the underlying soil. So where you’ve got your dune country, your red sand, that’s where you’ll have your Mallee communities. The lake bed of course, these dry lake beds, you’ve got a lot of saltbush and bluebush communities. Where you’ve got a mixture of soil types, you’ll have your belar and rosewood communities. Jane Stapleton: And the cypress pines, I mean it seems incongruous coming out here and seeing pine trees, it doesn’t seem right. Lars Kogge: Well the cypress pine is a native pine, and it’s quite common in these parts …. or was quite common. Cypress pine is termite-resistant and it was a favoured construction material and the early settlers would have cut down hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pine for fence posts, for building material. The Mungo woolshed, and a lot of the associated early day buildings here are constructed from cypress pine. Jane Stapleton: And what would you say to people who might be interested in coming out to Mungo?

Lars Kogge: Do it. Just do it. No, it’s a great place if you’re interested in the history of the Australian landscape, it’s a great place to start. There’s no place I can think of where that component of the natural history is as well interpreted as it is here. Jane Stapleton: Lars, thank you very much. Lars Kogge: You’re welcome. Jason Di Rosso: Thanks to New South Wales Parks and Wildlife staff, and all the other people who took part in this program. Tomorrow, join Jane and Roger for the last in this series of A Walk in the Park as they visit Lake St Clair National Park, or Leeawuleena as it’s known, in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. The other end of the Overland Track, Cradle Mountain, might have become an icon for the island State, but the scenery around Australia’s deepest lake isn’t far behind. That’s tomorrow in A Walk in the Park. A Walk in the Park is funded by the ABC Regional Production Fund and produced by Jane Stapleton and Roger Penny for Radio National Summer.

Copyright © ABC 2004 1000+ images about Australia Travel Bucket List on Pinterest | Caves, Wwi and Australia Forward Mungo Man, discovered in 1974, was an early human inhabitant of the continent of Australia, who is believed to have lived between 68,000 and 40,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch. The remains are the oldest anatomically modern human remains found in Australia to date. See More 1000+ images about Red Deer Cave People and Denisovans on Pinterest | Caves, Human evolution and Cave in Forward These little guys were sighted in Flores, Indonesia, from ancient times to the 19th century. They’re described as hairy and short with big guts. They walk like humans. They are said to have mimicked the words people said to them. Australians and Indonesians found skeletons of a new species of human at an archaeological site. They were believed to live over 10,000 years ago. The skeletons were about a meter tall. These skeletons were thought to possibly be the ebu gogo of Indonesian folklore. See More

Question: The Lake Mungo remains consisting of two fossils known as Mungo Lady and Mungo Man are located in the World Heritage listed Willandra Lakes Region of which country?
Answer: Australia